in "the world that now is." It is into this earth with which we are familiar and into which we have been born, that God manifest in the flesh has come, that He might connect Himself with its overwhelming ruin by being made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and since "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead." There was a path which the vulture's eye had never seen, nor the lion or his whelps trodden, and into these hidden ways the Son of man, the woman's Seed entered, that by incarnation, crucifixion, death, and burial, resurrection, and ascension, to the right-hand of the majesty in the heavens, He might throw open a highway for the elect of God, beyond the range of sin, and where Satan has no power. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing had long lay hidden in a proverb, till Solomon's greater son, the Son of the Father's bosom, brought to light the hidden mysteries of God, which had been kept secret from before the foundation of the world. The garden of Eden

was never the sure place, nor was Adam the nail on which God would hang all the offspring and the issue. The first man must, and has, given way to the second Adam, and the sure nail in the sure place is Christ in resurrection life and righteousness, upon whom hangs "all the glory of his Father's house, and all vessels of flagons and cups whether of large or small quantity."

True as this is of the Lord in the ways which He has trodden, and which none but He could take, yet it is of allimportance to see that the deep, deep sleep of death through which He passed, led to the glory where He is. In an unfallen creation Adam had a garden, with its mysteries and divine deposits as we have seen, and in this fallen creation, the Second man has His garden, where all the previous secrets are brought into light, and made, yea and amen by the death and resurrection of Christ. "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid, there laid they Jesus." It was into

death the first man plunged himself by sin, and lost his place as lord of creation; it is out of death and the grave that the Second man steps in honour and divine righteousness, as having glorified God and acquired a name which is above every name that is named not only in the world but in that which is to come. (To be continued.)

THOUGHTS FOR THIS DAY.

THE GOSPEL WITHOUT THE CHURCII.

THERE never was a beginning yet but it had a reference to an end, and the end therefore must give a character to the beginning. True, a person might alte his design as he proceeds, but ther us beginning was not in keeping with the end he now has in view, nor is it the one that he would have adopted had he had the same end in view when he began. There is nothing more evident than that there must be an end in view to every beginning, and the beginning must be in keeping (however distantly)

with the end proposed. The end may be very undefined, but nevertheless it was with reference to it that the work was begun or undertaken.

The servant of the Lord receives a commission from the Lord to do a certain thing; he may not be able to comprehend the full result of his work, but in order to be true to the result, he must be true to the commission. The first thing after the servant's appointment, is his commission. If he be ignorant of what he is to do, he must of necessity be defective in all his services.

Every real servant now is appointed, he is called of the Lord and gifted. A gift is a specific line of service, and as each servant waits on the Lord, he receives instruction from Him through the word in order that he may please Him who hath chosen him.

No one is an Evangelist unless he be gifted by the Lord for that ministry. This is the first thing, and one which no one taught in the word will deny; the next thing is the commission which the Evangelist receives from the Lord. Now

here I apprehend arises all the imperfection and weakness in preaching the Gospel in this day. Every servant is only really useful and efficient as he is the bearer of his Master's mind. Whenever he fails in truly representing the Lord's mind, he fails in his commission, however great his power as an agent. To "please Him who hath chosen him," is the first and chief quality of a servant. It is not enough that he have ability; ordinarily speaking a servant might have every qualification, and yet be unsatisfactory, because he pays little attention to his Master's wishes. The most gifted Evangelist, however great his power and ability, will fail in his service unless he knows what his Lord desires that he should effect by his preaching. It is therefore of great moment that he should learn from the Lord what he is to do.

In preaching the gospel you must either derive light as to your commission from the scriptures before the Lord's ascension or after it. Before the ascension there was salvation for the soul, but